Software, Hardware, Research – Results

I got a call two days ago from Apple saying the transition was pretty much complete. All I had to answer was a question about what user id did I use for ADC. Easy.

As it was quicker than I thought, I had yet to get my banking info in order, which took another day. With my new account in hand today at noon, I was able to complete the contract and banking info stuff on iTune Connect. At least I hope I did...

There may be a couple of hitches.

My ADC/iPhone developer account has most things changed over to my company name, TechConficio, but various forms still default to my name with no option to edit it. Hmmm...

On the contact info form, Apple asks for several contacts (main representative, financial, etc.), but as there’s only me right now, it seems not to like my split personalities. We’ll see if that’s a real problem

The main place this may be a problem is on the W-8BEN form. It gets generated by Apple and sent to you via email. I’m supposed to sign it and return it. But the name is not my company name, so I had to fix things with a pen and then send it in. Hope that works.

The other tricky thing, and something that’s specific to Canada and, thus, surely different in other countries, is getting the banking info right. I opened a chequeing account for TechConficio. On the iTunes Connect banking info form, the organization name is my name, but I can set the account holder name to TechConficio. So that’s okay. On the iTunes Connect form, the other important info is as follows

Branch/Branch ID: is the 5-digit branch ID as per the bottom of your cheque

Account Number: is branch ID concatenated with account number for a total of 12 digits

Bank Swift Code: can be got by calling your bank

The Transit number: is 4-digit institution number (add leading zeros if needed) concatenated with 5 digit branch id

Institution numbers in Canada can be found by Googling... Various cheque numbers are identified below

Like lots of people, I found it expeditious to start my iPhone development “career” as an individual developer. At the time, I did not have an active company so applying as a corporation wasn’t possible.

Now, looking to get my first app up on the App Store, I thought it wise to consider whether I want to continue as an individual developer or convert to a corporation. As I went thought some of the steps to getting on the App Store (as per the iPhone developer portal tools and information), I could see that some of the hoops a Canadian developer has to jump through would be easier as a corporation.

For the direct benefit of fellow Canadians, and I hope partial benefit for other nationalities, I’ll share the various steps and (I hope not too many) tribulations as I get through them.

A NUANS report is also needed; I used an online service to perform the name search (NUANS, so-called). They were great. I submitted the name (after Googling to see what my chances were) and within 30 minutes got a phone call to saying the name looked good and how would I like to pay for the report. 30 minutes later the report was in my inbox.

Drove to the nearest Level 2 registry, which is also an Alberta Motor Association branch, to complete the submission. As it was Monday at 3:10 pm, it was absolutely dead and in 10 minutes my company was formed. All the necessary legal docs were printed on the spot.

Done and Done!!!

Day 2 (Today) GST/HST number

To get an app on the App Store, you need to provide various financial info include a GST number.

Used the Government of Canada’s online system to get a GST/HST number. Following the steps at the Business Number (BN) registration site, I was able to get a Corporate account number and GST/HST account number in less than an hour.

Day 2 (Today) EIN for the US

As per the instructions and tips on the iTunes Connect site, I phoned the IRS phone number for international applicants: 215-516-6999. Despite my Canadian accent, I was able to easily convey the needed information to the nice lady and eventually get an EIN. She promised I’d get a notice from the IRS regarding it in about 2-3 weeks, maybe a bit longer, but all I needed to proceed is the EIN. The other stuff being sent is for my records.

I really recommend reading the W-8BEN instructions and tips from the iTunes Connect site, and downloading and reviewing the IRS’s SS4 form. Filling out the SS4 gives you all the info you need when you make the call.

Day 2 (Today) Converting from an individual developer to corporate developer

The best advice on the net seemed to indicate that phoning Apple’s Developer Programs support people would be the fastest approach (as opposed to using the form-driven email contact page). I called 800 633 2152 and after a short wait got a very helpful Australian-accented woman. Again, the Canadian accent was a bit of a challenge.

She first asked for my original Enrollment ID (for the individual developer application), which I didn’t have handy. So she used my Apple ID (@mac.com) to track me down.

She was very careful to outline what would happen if I chose to convert status, namely that my developer account would be disabled for about a week, maybe more. Since I have certificates that will continue to allow me to target my devices, I’m not too worried. Just means my app submission is on hold.

After explicitly asking if I wanted to proceed, she pulled the plug on my account and sent me an email with a link to follow for the next step in the process. She patiently waited until I had received the email (seconds) and then wished me well.

The email contained a link to the developer login page. As I have two ADC IDs, I had to be careful to use the one that I told her. As I learned by accident with the individual developer application, using the wrong email/ADC ID screws things up a lot.

Once through the login, I was asked to update my profile to include the correct corporate info. After double-checking my changes, I submitted them and was take to a page telling me to wait for an email...

After about 2 hours, I received and email asking me to fax one of three possible forms of corporate identification back to Apple. No problem since I had them handy from yesterday.

That’s where things stand right now. I’m hoping the rest of the process takes only a short time.